Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Weiss currently holds an approval rate that exceeds the Bronx Hearing Office average by 13 percentage points and the national average by 14 percentage points. These figures are derived from a docket of 9,388 lifetime decisions. Aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting your individual hearing outcome.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Weiss's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over a six-year tenure, your approval patterns for Judge Weiss have remained consistent, fluctuating between 68% and 76% annually. This stability suggests a steady approach to evaluating your disability claim regardless of shifting caseloads. The most recent data reflects a continuation of this established pattern, showing that the judge's decision-making process has maintained its trajectory over thousands of hearings. This consistency provides a framework for understanding how evidence is typically weighed in this courtroom.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Weiss's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Weiss? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Bronx hearing office
The Bronx Hearing Office serves a large population of claimants across New York, managing a high volume of disability cases with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an average approval rate of 59%, reflecting the complex nature of the claims processed in this region. You can expect a formal environment where thorough documentation is essential for a successful outcome. You can visit the Bronx Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Within the Bronx Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 45% to 72%. Because each judge brings a unique perspective to the hearing room, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent regardless of which judge you are assigned.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.